TL;DR
In a WIRED piece, Johan Rockström warns the planet is approaching an environmental tipping point, pointing to unprecedented 2024 greenhouse-gas emissions and widespread coral bleaching as urgent warnings. Global emissions rose 0.8% from 2023, and efforts to bend the emissions curve by 2020 have not succeeded.
What happened
Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, wrote in WIRED on Dec. 29, 2025 that the Earth is approaching an environmental tipping point. He highlights that 2024 saw higher greenhouse-gas emissions in a single year than any prior year, with a modest 0.8% increase compared with 2023. Rockström notes this continuation of rising emissions runs counter to scientific guidance that the global emissions curve should have been bending downward by 2020. He also points to contemporaneous global coral bleaching events, characterizing them as a severe and visible climate warning. The piece frames these trends — record annual emissions and widespread reef stress — as indicators that planetary systems are under growing strain and that current trajectories risk crossing critical thresholds.
Why it matters
- A new annual emissions record suggests global mitigation efforts have not yet reversed the upward trend in greenhouse gases.
- Coral bleaching is presented as a clear, immediate signal of ecosystem stress tied to climate change.
- Failing to bend the emissions curve by 2020 raises concerns about the closeness of potential tipping points in Earth systems.
- Crossing environmental tipping points could lead to abrupt, hard-to-reverse changes in ecosystems and climate behavior.
Key facts
- Article published in WIRED on Dec. 29, 2025 and authored by Johan Rockström.
- Rockström is director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
- 2024 recorded higher greenhouse-gas emissions in a single year than any prior year.
- Global emissions rose 0.8% in 2024 compared with 2023.
- Scientific guidance indicated the global emissions curve should have been bent downward by 2020.
- The author identifies recent global coral bleaching events as a severe climate warning.
What to watch next
- Trends in annual global greenhouse-gas emissions in 2026 and beyond — not confirmed in the source.
- Reports and monitoring of coral reef health and bleaching events worldwide.
- Policy and implementation outcomes aimed at reversing emissions growth — not confirmed in the source.
Quick glossary
- Tipping point: A threshold in a system after which small changes can produce large, often irreversible, shifts in state or behavior.
- Greenhouse gases: Atmospheric gases, like carbon dioxide and methane, that trap heat and contribute to Earth’s greenhouse effect.
- Coral bleaching: A stress response in corals, often from elevated water temperatures, that causes them to expel symbiotic algae and lose color, risking reef decline.
- Emissions curve: A representation of how greenhouse-gas emissions change over time; 'bending the curve' means reducing or reversing growth.
Reader FAQ
Who wrote the article and where was it published?
The piece was written by Johan Rockström and published in WIRED on Dec. 29, 2025.
How much did emissions increase in 2024?
According to the article, global greenhouse-gas emissions rose 0.8% in 2024 compared with 2023.
What does the article identify as a clear climate warning?
The author points to global coral bleaching events as the worst kind of climate warning.
Has the global emissions curve been bent downward as scientists recommended?
The article states that efforts to bend the emissions curve by 2020 did not succeed; emissions continued to rise.
What specific policy measures are recommended?
not confirmed in the source
JOHAN ROCKSTRÖM SCIENCE DEC 29, 2025 5:00 AM The Earth Is Nearing an Environmental Tipping Point Today’s global coral bleaching events are the worst kind of climate warning. ILLUSTRATION: MACROCARPA…
Sources
- The Earth Is Nearing an Environmental Tipping Point
- Planet's first catastrophic climate tipping point reached, …
- Coral collapse signals Earth's first climate tipping point
- Global warming is forcing Earth's systems toward 'doom …
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